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December 12, 2022

“Leaders of the Jewish community in the U.S. and extremism experts have been alarmed to see celebrities with massive followings spew antisemitic tropes in a way that has been taboo for decades.”

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—Associated Press, December 3, 2022

This new antisemitism should alarm every American.  Antisemitism was never before deeply rooted here.  America’s most fundamental values and traditions included and protected Jews.  We have toxic antisemitism today because the “progressive” left systematically attacked and destroyed them during the past sixty years.

Most past discrimination against Jews in America came from the typical mistrust of natives toward all newcomers.  Catholic immigrants from Italy and Ireland faced the same thing.

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Jews did well here for many reasons.  First, Jews shared the Old Testament of the Bible with America’s Protestant majority.  That included the Ten Commandments and “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself.”  Jews and Protestants often referred to the same Old Testament heroes, stories, and proverbs in everyday conversations.  

Second, our Declaration of Independence held that we are all “created equal” and “endowed by our Creator” with the same “unalienable rights.”  Those rights were “secured” by federal and state constitutions, courts, and law enforcement.

Third, America was a land of “boundless opportunities.”  Government was limited and inexpensive.  It was mostly used as a referee to make sure everyone followed the same rules.  It was not there to select who would win or lose.  It had no power to decide who had “too much” and “redistribute” their wealth.

Almost every American who worked, planned, and saved found his own way to live a safe, prosperous, and comfortable life.  This included black Americans who left the Jim Crow South during the “Great Migration” after the Civil War.  Americans were free to buy and build on land and go into almost any trade or business without begging for permits or other favors from ruling elites.  Taxes and fees were low.  Poor people quickly gained wealth because they kept most of what they earned.

Those who succeeded were respected and admired.  Those who failed kept trying.  Those who made excuses were told, “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?”

Finally, most Jews, like most Americans since Benjamin Franklin,  shared a love for objective truth and free speech to find it.  Both were protected by law.  National conversations were easy because almost all Americans spoke English.  Since 1914, legal immigration was limited to roughly 200,000 per year.  Illegal immigration was not tolerated.  Most immigrants quickly spoke English and embraced American culture because they were immediately immersed in both.